The Best Action Movies of all time are Kill Bill (2003), Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000), Seven Samurai (1954), The Professional (1994), The Matrix (1999), Enter the Dragon (1973), The Dark Knight (2008), The French Connection (1971), Snowpiercer (2013), Police Story (1985).
Source - IMDB "The Great Train Robbery" - a well-known 12-minute Western short is quoted by some historians as the first such example.
Explosions, sword fights, car chases, fist fights, knockdowns, shoot-outs, blood splashes etc., are the few things that come to mind when we think of an action movie. However, action films have existed for nearly as long as cinema. There is nothing better than the adrenaline of pure action movies, which have their thrills, chills, and spills. This genre puts actors through hell on the screen, offering sensations that pop on the big screen and feel no less impactful at home.
Although many are satisfactory, only a handful contain this elusive combination of a great story, memorable characters and an unrivaled technical mastery of the stunts needed to go beyond the sensations of the genre and attain the degree of great cinema. Here is a list of a few movies with truly great cinema statuses in no particular order.
Kill Bill
"Kill Bill" by Quentin Tarantino is an epic two-part revenge story focused on a hero with quasi-superhuman abilities and relentless concentration, but with enough vulnerabilities and human motivation for the audience to encourage her. The Bride is on a quest, searching for Deadly Viper Assassination Squad members to assassinate, who left her for dead years ago. The pursuit eventually leads to the gang's leader Bill, who is her ex-lover, but along the way, the Bride has to vanquish each of her enemies in wildly choreographed combat sequences, some of which would be the centerpiece of a terrific action film.
Cast: Uma Thurman, David Carradine, Lucy Liu
Director: Quentin Tarantino
Runtime: 247 minutes
Year: 2003 (Vol.1), 2004 (Vol.2)
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Retrieving a stolen sword and a few pairs of lovers can sometimes seem a bit far-fetched. Still, the breadth of Crouching Tiger's direction, cinematography and combat choreography will leave everyone satisfied. Tricky scenes rich in dialogue are torn by Chow Yun-Fat, Michelle Yeoh and Zhang Ziyi. As they explode above the treetops, through the air, and into their enemies with such dancelike grace, you can hardly trust your eyes. Whereas action films often count on special effects to do the heavy lifting, in "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", they improve or flavor pre-natural capacities that have already been captured on film.
Cast: Chow Yun-Fat, Michelle Yeoh, Zhang Ziyi
Director: Ang Lee
Runtime: 120 minutes
Year: 2000
Seven Samurai
In 1586, there was a Japanese village that needed protection from bandits. So they're recruiting seven state-of-the-art hunters to protect them. Based on that simple premise, Japanese director Akira Kurosawa invented modern action cinema, choreographing everything from head-to-head confrontation to a look at the character, drama, and advancement of history. Kurosawa cracked the code about how to use sound (or silence) and anger to deliver emotional gains and thrills. Film students and experienced filmmakers have reason to study its climax in the rain.
Cast: Toshiro Mifune, Takashi Shimura, Yoshio Inaba
Director: Akira Kurosawa
Runtime: 208 minutes
Year: 1954
The Professional
Natalie Portman would one day win an Academy Award, after her performance at the age of 13 in "The Professional". Portman plays Mathilda, a kid whose family is murdered by a pathetic DEA officer. In despair, she takes refuge in an unlikely environment - the home of Leon, a taciturn professional murderer who lives in her building. Leon hosts Mathilda while she looks for help to avenge the death of her family; at the same time, he takes her deeper into the world of crime and violence.
Cast: Jean Reno, Gary Oldman, Natalie Portman
Director: Luc Besson
Runtime: 106 minutes
Year: 1994
The Matrix
The beautiful blend of cyberpunk, S&M couture, comic books and cult science fiction scripts of the Wachowskis have not only introduced a marginal simulation theory to the general public. They also made Keanu Reeves the first real action hero of the 21st century, a year before the turn of the century, and changed how blockbuster productions were created. The rescue mission that culminates in a helicopter crashing into an undulating skyscraper is always breathtaking; especially the "bullet time" sequences still seem groundbreaking.
Cast: Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss
Director: Lana Wachowski and Lilly Wachowski
Runtime: 136 minutes
Year: 1999
Enter the Dragon
The late Martial artist, Philosopher, Actor, Director, Screenwriter, and Producer bursts with charisma and plays kung fu master Lee, who was dispatched by a covert espionage operation to infiltrate Han's inner circle. Han was also a martial artist who was formed in the same monastery. Lee and Han will see each other at a martial arts tournament, although Lee's mission takes a turn when he tries to avenge himself after learning that Han's foot soldiers killed his sister.
Cast: Bruce Lee, John Saxon, Jim Kelly
Director: Robert Clouse
Runtime: 99 minutes
Year: 1973
The Dark Knight
The second opus of the trilogy "Dark Knight" by Christopher Nolan is, without doubt, the best chapter showing the outcome of Bruce Wayne's ascent and formation in "Batman Begins" before what will happen in "The Dark Knight Rises". As Christian Bale acts quietly between the two incredible movies, Heath Ledger's unforgettable chilling performance, the batmobile chase, Harvey Dent going off the rails all together result in this film being probably the best superhero movie ever.
Cast: Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Aaron Eckhart
Director: Christopher Nolan
Runtime: 152 minutes
Year: 2008
The French Connection
Running, diving, punching, kicking, and knocking is the never stop thing for Jimmy Doyle. His methods may not be usual (or ethical or legal), but it reflects William Friedkin's unexpected and original style of true direction. Despite its frenzy, hardness, newness and violence, "The French Connection" was voted Best Film by the Academy Awards. It's the only criminal action movie that has ever done it.
Cast: Gene Hackman, Fernando Rey, Roy Scheider
Director: William Friedkin
Runtime: 104 minutes
Year: 1971
Snowpiercer
“Snowpiercer” is an adaptation of a French graphic novel into a vicious satire of the confrontation between the wealthy and impoverished. In the future, humankind will survive a new ice age by living on a fast train that is constantly on the move – the lower the engines, the lower the class. In order to be liberated, Chris Evans, a freedom fighter, and his guerrilla army have to make their way to the lead car with combat mercenaries and profs armed with submachine guns along the way.
Cast: Chris Evans, Tilda Swinton, Ed Harris, Song Kang-Ho
Director: Bong Joon-Ho
Runtime: 126 minutes
Year: 2013
Police Story
When Jackie Chan made that classic cop-versus-gangster flick, he was already a martial-arts movie star. His previous fun action film, before Police Story, made him Hong Kong's Buster Keaton. So, its vertiginous opening, in which Chan leads directly across a hill-sloping city and hangs on the side of a bus, would be the piece de resistance for most films. Then the actor-director surmounts it by sliding onto an 80-foot pole covered with light bulbs and falling into the glass ceiling of a commercial gazebo. Those end-credits overruns are consistent with extremely tight calls.
Cast: Jackie Chan, Brigitte Lin
Director: Jackie Chan
Runtime: 100 minutes
Year: 1985
FAQs
Q. How many Oscars has The French Connection received?
A. “The French Connection” movie has earned eight nominations at the 44th Academy Awards and won five awards for Best Picture, Best Actor, Beat Film Editing, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Director. The other Academy nominations it received were for Best Supporting Actor, Best Cinematography, and Best Sound Mixing.
Q. How many sequels are in The Matrix?
A. The Matrix franchise has four feature films - The Matrix(1999), The Matrix Reloaded(2003), The Matrix Revolutions(2003), and The Matrix Resurrections(2021).
Q. What is Quentin Tarantino's first movie?
A. As an independent filmmaker, Quentin Jerome Tarantino started his career with Reservoir Dogs in 1992.
